On April 5, 2017 the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute Spring Gala Reception at the Loeb Central Park Boathouse was a grand affair marking a new phase for the organization in its new East Harlem home.

The center moved into a landmark former FDNY firehouse on 120 E. 125th St. (between Park and Lexington Aves.) last fall and 2017 will be the first full year the CCCADI will be conducting its many programs and activities from the building.

Longtime educator and cultural leader Marta Moreno Vega founded the center in 1976 with the goal of integrating art, education and activism.

Essence magazine editor-in-chief emeritus Susan Taylor (who was born in Harlem to parents from Trinidad and St. Kitts) was among the honorees for the second annual Spring Gala Reception, held April 5 at the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park.

Ana Oliveira, president and CEO of the New York Women’s Foundation, Nigerian-American “Black Lives Matter” co-founder Opal Tometi, and Ben Rodriguez-Cubeñas, a program director at Rockefeller Brothers Fund are the others individuals who were honored for their efforts in the areas of arts, culture, and social justice.